The Truth About Mermaids
by Juliet Knighly
Summary: This is a informational fanfic that talks about mermaids, like how they look, what kinds, etc. if you could read and review, it'd make my day!
1. Chapter 1

Alright, lets start out with appearance.

First of all, their hair is very long. From the time they are born to the time they die, it's never cut, therefore making it seven feet long for the average twenty year old.

Secondly, their eyes are always a "Sea-Color," meaning any color the ocean or sea can be, their eyes can be also.

Thirdly, their lips aren't usually pink! Only reef mermaids lips are pink. A typical river mermaid's lips will be greenish-brown, and an ocean mermaid's will be a dark bluish-green.

Fourthly, their teeth are not fangs, although they are razor sharp. They look just like a normal humans teeth, and are brilliantly white.

Fifthly, they do not wear seashells to cover their breasts. They're born with scales covering that area, and they've never thought anything of it.

Sixthly, their arms and fingers are long and slender. The average pointer finger on a fully grown mermaid will be six inches long.

Seventhly, their tails. They are very long, and have gemstone chips embedded in them. The average tail length from hip to the tip of the fluke is eleven feet long for the average, fully grown mermaid.

Now lets go to types of mermaids.

There are many types of mermaids, too many for me to name, so I'll just name the more common ones.

Ocean mermaids- This is the most populated type of mermaids. Their palace is located in an underwater cave that is impossible for humans to find, making them very safe from hunting. They're nocturnal, as it's easiest for them to see at night. Their diet consists of deep-sea fish such as angler fish, hatchet fish, and viper fish to name a few.

Sea mermaids-These are the second most populated. Their palace is usually in the most hidden spot they can find. They're Diurnal, meaning they come out during the day. These mermaids are often called "Sirens" because of their especially enchanting voices. These are the mermaids that are feared because their diet consists of the flesh of man.

Lake mermaids-These mermaids have a somewhat small population, and the majority of them live in Lake Superior, due to its size and low temperature. The main palace is locate in a shipwreck called _The Maryanne_, which sank directly in the middle of Lake Superior, making their palace cold and dark. Their diet consists of the algae found on the rocks near the shore, which they retrieve at night.

River mermaids- The least populated, these mermaids are only found in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, located in present day Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They are nomadic mermaids, and do not have a palace. Their diet consists of fish and algae.

Arctic mermaids-This is not a largely populated type, but it has more mermaids than the lake type. Arctic mermaids are very pale with white lips and frost-blue eyes. Their tails are silver, and their hair is white with blue streaks here and there. The reason for this is so that they can blend in with the snow, making it easier to catch their prey. Their palace is a hollowed out iceberg, so thick that it would take a thousand years to drill through it, therefore making them the safest mermaids. Their diet consists of penguin eggs, harp seal pups, and the babies of just about everything that lives there.

Lets continue on to reproduction…

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Mermaids can't reproduce!" but that's where you're wrong. While its true that mermaids don't bear children the way humans do, they are still able to reproduce. There are special organs on the fluke of the tail, that when joined with a mermans, certain cells become diploid, and multiply and divide, much like a human baby.

Unlike humans however, the merchild is not carried in the stomach, but in the tail, making it impossible for the mother to swim during the four month gestation period.

The merchild is born into the world through a process that mermaids call "deducens," or, in English, splitting.

The mermaids tail splits in two, and the merchild is born. Though still an infant, it is so intellectually advanced that communication is possible the second it is born.

The mother will not be able to swim for another week or two, usually, but she is perfectly fine.

Magical mermaid items

Mermaid combs-These are the beautiful items mermaids use to comb their hair. Many times they are hand made, and are extremely decorative. If given to a human male, the mermaid will answer any time he swirls the comb in water. If given to a human female, the girl must only recite a certain poem to become a mermaid for the night.

Mermaid whelks- Many times called "The cell phone of the sea," these large lightning whelks are used by mermaids as a sort of microphone. When they sing at night, they capture their song in the shell and repeat it. BUT, because it was imprisoned in the shell, it becomes louder. When they wash up on shore, many humans put their ear to it and imagine they are hearing the ocean, when in fact it is remnants of the many songs of the mermaid that used it.

Moon shells- These somewhat common shells are extremely popular among mermaids. On full moon nights, they capture the moonlight in the shells and use it as a sort of tonic. Mermaids are strengthened by the full moon, so if ever they need an energy boost (mainly on new moons) they must only retrieve their moon shell and draw out the moonlight.

Mermaid scales-This super rare find is extremely powerful, though most humans don't realize it. When a mermaid's scale washes up on the beach during the day, it looks like nothing more than a common jingle shell, but at night it glows with the radiance of the moon. If ground up and mixed with pearl powder and sea water, a human has the ability to become a mermaid or merman permanently. This power is only present in the scale for three days after it peels off the mermaid, after that it is nothing more than an unnaturally beautiful jingle shell.

Well, I hope you learned a lot. Now you know how much of the stuff in movies is true or not. Happy mermaiding!

**A/N: hey guys! So, what'd ya think? Most of this stuff is from dreams I've had, and I think most of it would be true, you know, if mermaids actually existed =,( But, please review, it lets me know what you think. (obviously) love you! **


	2. Questions?

**So, I got a review from Michelle the Editor, and she had some very good questions that I thought I would post, if anyone else had the same ones.**

Mammals? Goodness no. They are completely a kingdom of their own.

Air breathers? Again no. They rely on water for oxygen.

Do they nurse their young? No. The child is intellectually and physically advanced enough that their is no need to nurse.

Why breasts? To mermaids, breasts are a thing of beauty, almost as important to them as their hair. When going to events, (yes, mermaids host such things,) they decorate them just as they do their hair.

I have heard people say "Mermaids are only created by the Moon, they cannot reproduce themselves." So I figured that I would include that section to prove that the previous notion is false.

Gemstone chips Painful? No more painful than the hair on your legs.

The sea and Ocean the same thing? Technically no. A Sea is a body of water completely or partially surrounded by land, where as an ocean is a large body of water that divides continents.

Where did the lake mermaids live? Before they found the Maryanne, they were much like the river mermaids, living basically wherever was suitable enough.

Impossible for the mother to swim while pregnant? It is credible. After all, swimming to them is like walking to us, and i know plenty of people who have had such terrible morning sickness that they were in bed pretty much the whole time they were pregnant.

Well of course the Mers have palaces! (Except for the river merfolk, of course.) They are creatures of beauty, and are constantly rebuilding their palaces to make them more splendorous and magnificent.

To them, using magic is like us blinking. They are born with the ability, and many times use it just because they can.

And as for not cutting their hair, would you remove your favorite part of the body? Would you cut off what makes you beautiful? Chances are, you wouldn't. They view their hair as their most beautiful feature, so why would they cut it? Of course, the mermen do, but that's because to them long hair is a maidenly trait.

**So there you have it! If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me!**


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